Sunday, January 23, 2011

The NHL's Ridiculous Free Agent Rule

It is absolutely ridiculous that free agents signed from Europe have to clear waivers before joining an NHL team. I thought it was ridiculous when it happened to St.Louis twice (Wellwood, Svatos), and I still think it is insane after it happened to my favourite team the Detroit Red Wings. Evgeni Nabokov is a seasoned veteran. Why as an NHL free agent does he have to clear waivers before he can go to a team of his choice? It is nuts. A team goes out, does the scouting, does a medical evaluation, spending money and resources to sign a free agent, and anyone in the NHL can claim the new contract???

Evgeni Nabokov would rather stay in Russia than play for the Islanders. As Chris Osgood said, the Islanders are terrible, I don't know why they'd do that. Was this intended to discourage NHL players from signing in Europe? It had better be, because in principle it is ridiculous.

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